Dare to Dream Then Do It by John Maxwell Chapter 5

Develop Great People Skills. “The most important single ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how to get along with people.” Theodore Roosevelt

I just have to say that FINALLY today is a day that I can say, “This is a skill that I am GOOD at.” If you feel differently please let me know. But as I have previously shared with you all so far, when I read this book, I keep thinking about how many areas Nick is already good at, and how much I need to learn. However, today is different. Nick is NOT a people person and I definitely am. Funny story as I was discussing this with him, he corrected me though and said, “It is not a skill I am weak at, I choose not to be a good at it.” Well either way you look at it you need people skills. “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because some day in life you will have been all of these.”– George Washington Carver.

All too often we are focusing on what WE need. What do we need to make our OGV grow (Sorry if you are not with Young LIving, that is Oganizational Group Volume), what do we need to make ourselves successful. However, network marketing is the BEST example of how when you help others you become successful. All too often, I think about what I need to do in order to reach a certain rank within the company, or what do I need to do to be able to stay home with my kids full time? Are these bad thoughts? No. But in order to succeed I need to take the focus off of myself and meet my downline where they are at to be sure that they can succeed. ONLY THROUGH THEIR SUCCESS AM I SUCCESSFUL. This last month this has really hit home for me and for the first time this month when I am checking my downline (which I do daily) I am not worried about what my numbers are but rather the numbers of my downline. I want so bad for some of them to hit their own personal goals and I am working my butt off to try to help them reach it. This is not something that I am saying I deserve a pat on the back for AT ALL. But rather in changing my focus I am soooooo much more excited for all of you. When you guys are able to hit your own goals, I think that I become more excited then you. Do I gain from it yes, but it is so much more than that. If you hitting a new rank means that you don’t have to worry each month about making the car payment or affording groceries or paying for your kids lessons, and it has taken that simple weight off your shoulders than I AM EXCITED. That is huge and my joy comes from THAT, not from my own rank advancement.

So I encourage you like Adam Green says don’t focus on what you need in order to hit certain rank advancements or achievements but rather work with others in your downline and see what small steps you can do to help them succeed. For example, take your focus off of where YOU are short and look for ways in which you can work with others to help them reach their smaller goals. It is easier to help many people reach smaller goals, than trying to do a big chunk on your own. You all win this way. I don’t know if I confused you or not but I hope that you can see that by working with a bunch of people to help them reach smaller achievements your bigger goals can be accomplished.

So going back to our people skills, don’t worry this gnat is back on track. What can you do in order to be a better leader? What people skills do you need to work on for yourself? Is it being a better listener, finding sympathy, or maybe even just reaching out more? What is it that you can do in order to connect with others? John Maxwell wrote Five things that I know about People:

1. “Everybody wants to be somebody.”

2. “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

3. “Everybody needs somebody.”

4. “Anybody who helps somebody influences lost of bodies.” (Think back to the story I told you about Billy Grahm in the first lesson).

5. “Somebody today will rise up and become somebody.”

In order to be successful leaders we need to meet people where they are at and find ways to relate to them, inspire them and motivate them to work together as a team, so that we all are a force to be reckoned with. We need to learn the skill of how to approach others in a way that is inspiring and motivating to them. We need to try to walk a day in their shoes and see what we as leaders can do to help them grow and be inspired and motivated to reach new heights. We are not able to do that if we are not comfortable with reaching out to others. People skills are just as important as writing down your dreams with a date and plan because if you can not work well with others, you will most likely fail. I am not saying that you have to be outgoing and social, but you do have to figure out how to WORK with others.

“Effective Leaders remember and act upon the fact that all work is done ultimately by people, with people, through people, and for people. Leaders function by creating alignment around tasks, inspiring and relating to people. Leadership is high touch. It is grounded in the four chamber of leadership’s heart: intimacy, integrity, passion, and competence.”–Roger Staub

I really like these saying as well and I want to leave you with this because I feel that it ties together what I am trying to say to you all. And that is by helping others and working with others, we ourselves will be blessed and reap great rewards as well. “Treat a man as he appears to be and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.”–Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“Kindness is a language the dumb can speak and the deaf can hear and understand.”–Christian Bovee

Homework: Be slow to criticize and quick to praise. Practice your listening skills. Only when we truly listen can we actually HELP others.

By the way thank God for essential oils as my back and neck are doing much better today. I hope I wasn’t a downer for you yesterday, but just tried to keep it real, as to being consistent when it isn’t always easy.

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About blondiesoilbliss

Mother of 4 (3 girls and 1 husband), OB Nurse, Jesus is my leader and the rest of life comes in this order: Faith, Family, Friends, Love for essential oils, and sports!!! I love watching my children compete in sporting events and I am Definitely a competitive person by nature. My husband and I may literally be competitive EVEN with the Alphabet Game………just sayin’